It can be appreciated that in constructing component parts of an aircraft and in particular in the construction of an aircraft fuselage a substantial number of mechanical fasteners are employed. For example, in assembling a first fuselage section to a second fuselage section, a time tested method of bolting internal metal splices between the fuselage sections is employed. This approach appears very convenient and effective in fuselages built of metal. The joining of the two fuselage sections by the bolted internal splices can occur in the sub assembly stage, or during final assembly.
In the example of a typical aircraft fuselage being constructed of five cylindrical composite fuselage sections, there can be as many as 24 frame segments, 300 splices and 8000 threaded fasteners (bolts) employed in splicing or joining together the fuselage sections. This requires 8000 holes to be drilled (through the fuselage sections and any joining splice), reamed, checked for quality assurance, all bolts to be installed and most of this is taking place during the final assembly of the aircraft prepared to join a moving assembly line.
Because final assembly typically takes place with the fuselage moving along an assembly line, it is advantageous to reduce the workload of the final assembly of the moving fuselage. Additionally, the weight reduction and part count reduction associated with this concept would be desirable.